Chairlift rides are one of life’s pleasures. Listening to the squeak of the cable as it trundles over the pylons, feeling the warm mountain sun on your face… But as much as we dream of swapping the office swivel chair for a Doppelmeyer express, the novelty can wear off. Here are a few ideas to pass the time.

1. Throw snowballs
There is no better place to throw snow at people, either innocent victims below or folk within reach on the chairs ahead. Scoop snow from your board and unleash your finest slinging arm.

2. Eat and drink
If you’ve got a little stash of food and drink in your bag or deep in your pockets, now is the time to get it down you – by the time you reach the top you’ll be buzzing with fresh energy.

3. Abuse Mono-skiers
If anyone is still using these things they deserve to be publicly ridiculed. Chairlifts are the perfect place to unload your finest tirade – let rip.

4. Smoke
Whether it’s the wacky tabacky or just little rollie, a chair lift smoke can be the most pleasurable thing – just make sure you don’t sling your butts as the mountain may just bite you back.

5. Check your bindings
Binding screws have an annoying habit of working loose. By wiggling your front foot in the binding and checking the back one with your hands, you can check whether they need a quick tighten.

6. Help kids onto the lift
It is not uncommon to see an army of helmeted kiddies in ski schools been ushered onto chairlifts. These little guys need a hand, help them on and be extra careful when putting the bar down. Seriously, I nearly decapitated one once!

7. Spot lines
Chairlifts are great places to spot fresh lines to be ridden and work out how to get to them – look for lines directly under the lift for extra show-off potential.

8. Flirt
Why not use this time to be a little frisky and get your flirt on – with the adrenalin pumping and fresh mountain air it could lead straight to some glorious razzle. Just don’t do what a friend of mine once did and get tugged off by your lady whilst sharing the lift with a random German.

9. Clean your goggles
If you’ve just suffered a back breaking scorpion or a snowy head plant, the ride back up is the time to lick your wounds and clean your kit – just make sure your gloves are safe – there’s great potential for losing them.

10. Learn a foreign language
Where else will you encounter such a diverse range of nationalities? One run you might be learning how to say ‘good morning’ in Dutch, the next you’re practising your best Franglais to chat up the hottie fate has placed beside you for a whole ten minutes. Who knows, you could make even meet some new riding buddies and make lifelong friends…